Lost in the Darkness
by Siofra1
Summary: Chapter 6 up (Merry) -- A cave-in in Moria separates the Fellowship... This is basically what they go though, from each character's POV... Please read and review, you know you want to...
1. Frodo

Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly enough. It's all Tolkien's.  
  
Author's Note: This story is the result of various ideas I had for characters, none of which were long enough to be their own story. So this fic will eventually be told from the point of view of each member of the Fellowship.  
  
Chapter One: Frodo  
One foot in front of the other. Just keep your mind on that. Don't think about the darkness around you, or what might be hiding in it. Just listen to the others' footsteps and watch Gandalf's staff.  
Frodo swallowed hard. The darkness of Moria was heavier than any night he had ever lived through, despite his sharp vision. It seemed to be weighing them down, trying to prevent them from going any further. Gandalf's staff helped to fight it off, but the light it emitted only extended so far. Anything could be hiding in the darkness outside their tiny circle of light.  
  
Frodo shook his head, trying to put that thought out of his head. As he did so, he realized that he had been unconsciously fingering the Ring for comfort. Shaken, he quickly drew his hand away from it and let it hang by his side. He felt, rather than saw, Sam glance at him briefly, but neither made any comment. The company had fallen silent in the past few hours, so that the only sounds were those made by their footfalls. Even Merry and Pippin seemed to be lost in thought, drawing close to one another in an attempt to feel safe in the dark caves.  
  
Frodo jolted as Gimli stopped in front of him, causing the hobbit to bump into him. He would have fallen backwards had Sam not grabbed his elbow to help steady his master. Smiling his gratitude, Frodo looked to Gandalf to see why they had stopped.  
  
The wizard raised his staff so that the light reached as far as Aragorn, who was at the back of the line. "We will stop here, I think. We have walked far, and this seems like as good a place as any to sit and rest for a bit."  
  
The group let out a collective sigh of relief, and Frodo let himself sink to the ground. Next to him, Sam nearly threw himself down in an effort to get his rest as soon as possible. They had walked far, and Gandalf had allowed few rests. Neither he nor Aragorn seemed to want to remain in the caves any longer than necessary. All the same, the hobbits' energy was starting to wear thin, and Frodo wished the others would try to keep that in mind.  
  
Leaning against his pack, Frodo looked up to see Merry standing a few feet away, frowning at Pippin, who was sitting nearby, looking thoroughly exhausted. After a moment, Merry walked over to Gandalf and sat down next to him.  
  
Gandalf glanced down at the hobbit, raising his eyebrows. "Meriadoc. Is something on your mind?" Frodo could just make out what the wizard was saying. He tried not to seem like he was listening to their conversation and turned to rummage through his pack for food.  
  
"Gandalf, is there no way for you to stop more often, or set a slower pace?" Frodo heard Merry ask.  
  
"I would rather not do so. It would be best for us to pass through the mines as quickly as possible, so as not to be noticed by anything living here." Frodo turned around as Gandalf finished, a piece of bread in his hand. He chewed on it, grateful for a bit of food, while he watched Merry frown and shift around a bit on the ground.  
  
"I. I think it would be best if we at least traveled a bit more slowly, Gandalf," Merry said, looking both determined and uncomfortable at once. He gave Pippin a meaningful glance. "Some of us are having trouble keeping up."  
  
Frodo smiled to himself. Typical, using Pippin as an excuse. It was true that they all loved their young cousin and wanted to protect him, but a good deal of the time he didn't need the extra help. He was just someone the other hobbits pointed to when they did not want to admit that they couldn't do something as well as the bigger folk. Frodo turned to look at his cousin and saw that Boromir had sat down next to him. The two seemed deep in conversation.  
  
Frodo turned back as Gandalf started to speak again. The wizard's eyes twinkled in amusement, but his face remained somber. "I understand your worries, Merry, but I really cannot afford to spend any more time here than is absolutely necessary."  
  
Merry looked annoyed at Gandalf's stubbornness, but he did not seem willing to press the matter any further. With a sigh, he stood up and walked over to Frodo, sitting down heavily at his side.  
  
"That wizard," he muttered angrily, "is one of the most stubborn people I have ever met." On Frodo's other side, Sam ducked his head to cover a smile of agreement.  
  
Frodo grinned slightly. "I know a certain Brandybuck who could easily rival him in that area." He smiled innocently as Merry glared at him. After a moment, his cousin smiled as well, though it faded as he looked over to where Gandalf was now speaking quietly with Aragorn.  
  
A cracking noise far above caught Frodo's attention, though it was so soft he barely heard it. Neither Merry nor Sam seemed to have noticed anything. Frodo glanced around at the others. Aragorn and Gandalf had not paused in their conversation, nor had Boromir and Pippin. Gimli was off by himself, muttering something or other into his beard.  
  
Legolas, however, was looking upward, squinting into the darkness. This told Frodo that he had not been hearing things, for Legolas had the best hearing of any of them. He supposed the fact that he had heard it as well had something to do with the way his senses had become keener as a result of the would he had received at Weathertop. He watched nervously as Legolas walked over to Gimli, who was closest to him, and nudged him with his foot. The dwarf jerked indignantly, but Legolas silenced him as he whispered something to softly for Frodo to catch. Gimli responded by muttering angrily, and Legolas gave a heavy sigh as he turned away to find someone else to talk to.  
  
Before he could do so, there was a loud crack that made the company jump and leap to their feet. Then an immense noise echoed through the caves, and bits of rock began falling around them. Both Gandalf and Aragorn shouted something inaudible above the sound of stone breaking and crashing to the ground. Frodo barely had time to register that this was a cave in of sorts before Sam knocked him to the ground, shielding Frodo with his own body as the larger rocks began to fall.  
  
Frodo felt something large hit the ground next to him. The floor seemed to shudder, and suddenly he was falling. The fall lasted only a few seconds before the floor came up to meet him again, knocking all of the breath out of him. He heard a soft bumping noise and a grunt next to him that was Sam hitting the ground. He lay, hardly daring to breathe. The pandemonium continued for a few seconds, then tapered off as quickly as it had begun, subsiding to the sound of a few small stones bouncing off of the pile.  
  
Darkness. 


	2. Aragorn

Author's Note: *bows to reviewers* Thank you, hehe.  
  
Lily Baggins: I'm glad it's interested you. No Frodo in this chapter, though. And you may be surprised by the spin I put on "Frodo injury". *grins* He comes back in Chapter 3.  
  
Lady Jaina: Yes, reviews do keep writers going. heh. Thanks for the compliment!  
  
Disclaimer: I still own nothing. this is getting depressing. ;-)  
Chapter Two: Aragorn  
  
Aragorn raised his head. The rocks had stopped falling almost as quickly as they had stopped. Glancing around, Aragorn was surprised to find himself in what was simply a slightly smaller version of the cave they had been in earlier, with a few stones scattered across the floor. And yet. the rocks had been falling everywhere. He had seen them. He ought to have been crushed.  
  
As he stood up slowly, brushing dust and pebbles off of himself, he saw why. Standing a few feet away was Gandalf, eyes shut, gripping his staff tightly. The staff was giving off a faint glow. Smiling wryly, Aragorn glanced up. As he had expected, there was a layer of rocks a mere twenty feet above his head, seemingly held up by nothing. It certainly was useful to have a wizard as a companion.  
  
Around them, the rocks Gandalf had not been able to catch with his spell formed walls that stretched from the floor to the makeshift ceiling. Aragorn frowned, already foreseeing the problems these walls would cause for the Fellowship as its members tried to regroup. That is, if everyone survived the cave-in.  
  
Aragorn's eyes swiftly surveyed the area, searching for signs of life. There was nothing, only stones and solid rock walls. Wait. He focused in on a small lump located near the wall. It resembled a small, cloaked figure, huddled in fear. Aragorn smiled in relief. One of the hobbits, then.  
  
He crossed the space in three long strides. Upon reaching the figure, he knelt down and put out a hand, laying it on the hobbit's shoulder.  
  
A head suddenly appeared from underneath the cloak, jerking in surprise. Aragorn found himself looking in to the frightened eyes of the littlest one, Pippin.  
  
"Strider!" he cried, slowly uncurling and bringing himself to a sitting position. "What happened? Where are the others? All I remember is a loud crack, and rocks falling. Someone pushed me out of the way-I think it was Boromir." He frowned suddenly, looking around him. "Where is he? And the others? Are they alright?" He struggled to his feet.  
  
Aragorn put out a hand to steady the little one. "You are the first one I found, aside from Gandalf," he said, motioning to the wizard. "I think the others may be on the other side of the wall."  
  
Pippin, who had been eyeing Gandalf with curiosity, focused his attention back on Aragorn. "We will be able to find them again, won't we Aragorn?" he asked hopefully, his eyes full of fear.  
  
Aragorn could not bring himself to tell the little one of the possibility that his friend might not have survived. Instead, he simply ruffled Pippin's hair as he stood and said, "I certainly hope so."  
  
A grunting sound got their attention, and they turned to see the figure of a man straightening from behind a large boulder, knocking rocks off his cloak.  
  
"Boromir!" cried Pippin, running over to the man. "You're here too! Was it you who pushed me out of the way?"  
  
Boromir glanced at the boulder beside him. "That certainly landed close by," he said, giving a dry laugh. "I thought it had landed on me for a moment." He shook his head, then turned his attention to Pippin. "Yes, little one, it was I who pushed you. I fear you would have been crushed otherwise." He allowed himself to be led over to Aragorn.  
  
Aragorn breathed an inward sigh of relief to see the man, glad he had survived despite the misgivings he had towards him. He clasped Boromir on the shoulder in welcome. "Good to see you alive, my friend," he said, smiling.  
  
Boromir laughed and returned the gesture. "For now, at least. Travelling with this company seems to be hazardous to one's health." He smiled, to show he had meant it in jest. He looked around at their rock prison-for that was what it was, in effect-his smile turning into a frown with astonishing speed. "The others?"  
  
Aragorn shook his head. "I have not found them. I believe them to be on the other side of the wall."  
  
"I believe you are correct, Aragorn." They all turned to see Gandalf open his eyes and lower his staff, his face drawn. "Those ought to be secure by now," he said, nodding at the rocks above their heads as he adjusted his robes and cloak. Pippin looked up, his eyes growing wide as he noticed the ceiling for the first time. Boromir, too, looked surprised for a moment before recovering himself. Gandalf smiled before continuing. "I tried to stop the rocks as much as I could, and with a bit of luck the others will find themselves in a similar position to ours."  
  
Boromir laughed dryly. "Yes; alive but trapped, and unable to find their way back to the group." He shook his head, obviously troubled. "An ill bit of luck, this is." "At least you are alive," Aragorn said shortly. He did not like the way the hobbit's eyes were widening in fear. Boromir's words had obviously frightened him, worried for his friends as he was. "As we must hope the others are."  
  
Pippin looked up at him. "Is there any way for us to find them, Aragorn?" "I supposed we shall have to try to shift the rocks enough to make an opening big enough to crawl through." He looked at Gandalf for confirmation . The wizard nodded. "Moving the rocks should not disturb the spell. We are quite safe from being crushed. Now Pippin, I'll need your help." The hobbit looked at him in surprise.  
  
"Me, Gandalf?"  
  
"Yes," came the reply. "I want you to help me remember where the others were sitting so we know where to start digging." Pippin nodded and hurried over to talk with the wizard.  
  
Aragorn motioned to Boromir. "Come, help me search for a spot where we might have an easier time getting through." The two men walked to the wall. Aragorn scanned it, a feeling of hopelessness growing in him. There seemed to be no variation in the wall, and unless he was very much mistaken it was at least a few feet thick. He continued his search, hoping he might see a change.  
  
Beside him, Boromir looked up at the ceiling, troubled. "How could this have happened, Aragorn?" he said in a low voice. "Do you think it was Saruman?"  
  
Aragorn shook his head. "I very much doubt that. Cave-ins are generally caused by a disturbance on the surface. Perhaps there was an avalanche on one of the mountains." * Although in these mines, he thought, one never knew. Aragorn did not trust this place in the least, and he thought it more than likely that the cave-in had been caused by some creature or power in the caves with an ill-will towards the Company.  
  
He did not voice his thoughts, however, as his words seemed to have comforted Boromir, whose face now held less worry than it had. Looking back at the wall, Aragorn found his thoughts turning to the Ringbearer. Above all things, he thought, let him be alive. Let him be alive.  
  
* I actually know next to nothing about cave-ins, so this may not be true. If by some strange chance one of you is an expert in this area, let me know. ;-) 


	3. Sam

Author's Note: I apologize for not updating for so long. I've been working on a research paper in school, and it's been taking up an unreasonable amount of my time. Sorry!  
  
MoroTheWolfGod: Legolas is coming, he's coming! Chapter four has him in it, never fear!  
  
Lil*bee: Well, you got some of it correct. Hehe. Don't worry, I'm a pervy hobbit fancier as well! Particularly Merry.tee hee.  
  
Lady Jaina: My goodness! I have a repeat reviewer! This is amazing! Just for that, I'll give you an ice cream sundae! *hands Lady Jaina the ice cream* Thank you! *grins*  
Chapter Three: Sam  
  
It took Sam a moment to realize that the noise had stopped; the caves had become silent once more, devoid of the sound of falling rocks. He opened his eyes, frowned, then tried to open them again. After several repetitions, he realized that his eyes were open-it was just too dark to see anything.  
  
"Lovely," he murmured quietly. Well, he was alive and conscious. That, at least, was worth something. Now, what exactly had happened? The rocks had started falling, he remembered that. And he seemed to recall pushing someone to the ground. Who had that been? Oh, of course, Frodo. But what had happened then? If only he didn't have such a pounding headache.  
  
Frustrated, Sam sat up. Immediately his headache grew from a pounding to a painful throb, and a jolt of pain shot up his leg. He gasped and grabbed at his leg, but his headache grew so unbearable with the sudden movement that he had to lie back down, drawing his breath in ragged gasps.  
  
Something moved next to him. "Sam? Is that you?"  
  
Relief course through his body - Frodo was alive. "Yes, Mr. Frodo, I'm right over here." His headache was beginning to die down, thankfully.  
  
He heard shuffling noises off to his right, where Frodo's voice had come from. "Where are you? I can't see a thing, it's so dark." After several moments of scuffing noises, Sam felt Frodo grab his hand. "Oh, good. At least we're not alone," he heard his master say. A dull thump told him that Frodo had sat down next to him.  
  
Sam smiled, not daring to sit up. "Do you have any idea where we are, Mr. Frodo? I can't remember anything after I knocked you to the ground."  
  
Frodo was silent for a moment, and Sam wondered if he had heard him. "The ground gave way beneath us, Sam, don't you remember? We fell a few feet, perhaps seven or eight at the most." There was another moment of silence, and Sam thought he felt air move against his face. "Sam, are you hurt? Why are you lying down?"  
  
"Oh, no, I'm not hurt," he said hurriedly, realizing that the air he had felt was Frodo passing his hand through the air above his head to see where he was. "I just have a headache of sorts. It will likely pass."  
  
"All right, if you're sure," Frodo said, sounding doubtful. Still, there was little anyone could do in the dark anyway.  
  
Suddenly, everything around the two hobbits came into view, lit by what looked like dull candlelight. Both of them jerked in surprise. The light grew brighter, little by little, until a lantern appeared around a rock wall. The lantern was followed by a hand, which was followed by-  
  
"Merry!" Frodo cried joyfully. "You're all right! Why didn't you call out to us?" Merry walked closer, grinning nervously. His face and hands were covered in scratches of all sizes, though none of them seemed grave. "I wanted to see if I could get this lantern lit first. I had it in my pack, in case of emergencies. Do you have any idea how hard it is to light something when it's pitch black? It took me long enough just to find the - My goodness! Sam! What happened to you?"  
  
Sam looked at him in surprise, as did Frodo. After frowning at his cousin, Frodo looked down at Sam. "Sam!" he cried, scrambling to his knees. "You said you weren't hurt!"  
  
Sam frowned up at him. "But I'm not, Mr. Frodo," he said, starting to push himself into a sitting position. "I just have this head-"  
  
Frodo quickly pushed out his hands, and Merry rushed forward to do likewise. "Don't move," Frodo said firmly, his dark blue eyes full of worry. "Merry, do you have a cloth or something of the sort that I might use to stop the bleeding?"  
  
"Bleeding?" Sam said faintly. He tentatively reached his hand up and touched his forehead with one finger. The simple action of his finger coming in contact with his skin caused a sensation like a raging fire to shoot across his forehead. He gasped in pain. "That hurt!" Bringing his hand down into his line of vision, he saw that the tip of it was covered in blood. He swallowed hard.  
  
"For goodness sake, Sam!" Merry cried. "How can you not know you're hurt with a gash in your head that size?" He stopped talking as Frodo shot him a stern look.  
  
"Now, Merry, it's not that bad. As soon as we stop the bleeding, Sam should be good as new." He raised his eyebrows at his cousin. Merry got the hint and set about searching though his pack.  
  
A few seconds later, he triumphantly cried, "Here we go!" as he reached into his pack and produced a torn shirt. "Pippin's," he said, shrugging, as he handed it to Frodo. "I had been meaning to help him mend it, but I never got around to it."  
  
Frodo shook his head ruefully at Merry, then turned back to Sam and pressed the cloth gently against his forehead. The soft cotton might as well have been rusty chain mail, the way it scraped at his wound. Instinctively, Sam reached up and grabbed Frodo's wrist. The two locked eyes and smiled wryly.  
  
Frodo withdrew his hand, gently removing Sam's fingers from his forearm. "I know it hurts, but we have to stop the bleeding somehow." Sam glanced at the cloth Frodo held, and saw that it now sported a red splotch where it had been pressed against his head. Sighing, he nodded.  
  
Frodo held the cloth up. "Now, don't grab me suddenly again, or it will hurt more," he said firmly.  
  
A few minutes later, Sam's wound had been cleaned to the best of Frodo's ability, and he and Merry had managed to make a makeshift bandage out of Pippin's shirt. They helped Sam to sit up and lean against the wall as well. As he moved, he felt a sharp pain in his left leg, and remembered how it had pained him earlier. He chose to ignore it, gritting his teeth, feeling that he had already caused enough trouble already.  
  
Finally, the three hobbits sat in a tight circle, passing around a bit of bread and cheese. Merry glanced around them nervously. "Do you think the others are alright, Frodo?" he asked, eyeing the rock ceiling with suspicion.  
  
Frodo sighed and swallowed his bread. "We'll just have to assume that they are, won't we?"  
  
Sam's gaze moved to the wall of rocks, hoping above all things that his friends were on the other side of it, rather than under it. Until they knew for sure, the three of them could do nothing except sit and wait. 


	4. Legolas

Author's Note: I apologize profusely (heh, big word) for not updating in ages. I blame school and my own procrastination. Whenever I sit down to write, I either find myself surfing the web or simply suffering for writer's block. Plus, I'm working on my other fic (or trying to, anyway). so bear with me. *grins sheepishly*  
  
I must say that I am not entirely happy with this chapter, but I'm just so glad to have it complete that I'm posting it. It was a pain to write. I originally wanted it from Gimli's POV, but changed my mind midway. So I'm sorry, I'll try to make chapter five more interesting (which I think will be from Gandalf's POV, unless I change my mind again. Heh.)  
  
And of course, thank you to my reviewers! Reviews are half the fun, you know!  
  
Winyael Greenleaf: Thanks! Yup, I put poor Legolas with Gimli. not much conflict in this chappie, though. next time, hehe.  
  
Xena: I agree, hobbits are awesome, but I won't have a Pippin chapter up for awhile. sorry! I don't want to write all the hobbit chappies at once.  
  
Moro: Heh. Actually, I sort of took your advice. I wasn't going to, but it made sense after I thought about it for awhile so. I did! Hehe.  
  
Tialys and DarthLiela: Thank you to both of you! Your reviews finally made me get around to writing this chapter, lol. I'm actually very pleased that people went through the trouble to getting me to update. It's a new experience for me, hehe.  
  
Chapter Four: Legolas  
  
Legolas tried opening his eyes again, but nothing had changed. The darkness was still as oppressing and impenetrable as it had been a few moments ago. Even with his Elven sight, he could not see his own hand in front of his face.  
  
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and to stop his hand from shaking, which they had been doing even since the rocks had stopped falling. He could not recall ever experiencing a darkness for complete; even in the blackest night, the stars and Isil lent light enough to see by. Trust the dwarves to discover a way to live in darkness.  
  
Still breathing deeply, Legolas forced his mind away from his uneasiness with the darkness and towards thinking of how he would get out of this predicament. He had no idea where he was, his companions were lost or worse, and to top it all off it was dark. He thought for a moment, his hands jittering at his sides. He seemed to recall that each member of the Fellowship had received a small lantern among his supplies. Yes, he remembered now; it was sitting in the bottom of his pack.  
  
Reaching behind him, he pulled his pack around so it was in front of him. After fumbling blindly at the strap that held the bag closed, he managed to open it and began to search for the lantern and a piece of flint to light it with. Finally, his hand grabbed at what felt like Elvish- wrought metal. He latched onto it thankfully and pulled it out. A few more minutes of searching produced a bit of rock he could only assume was flint.  
  
He settled the lantern down in front of him and nearly lost it when it toppled over on the uneven rock floor of the mines. Panicking, he grabbed at it, managing to catch it before it rolled away. He sat back gripping it in trembling hands. If he lost this, he would be stuck in the darkness with no means of escape. He could not afford to let that happen.  
  
Breathing hard, he put it down in front of him once more, not taking his hands off of it until he was absolutely certain it would not fall over. Then he carefully brought the pieces of flint in front of him and struck them together. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. After four repetitions of this he began to get nervous. What if the bits of rock were not flint and were indeed only bits of rock? Feeling panic rising in his throat he struck them again, and this time a spark flew out. Feeling weak with relief, Legolas tried again, this time making sure that the spark fell into the lantern.  
  
Slowly, the flames caught, and the cavern came into view. Though Legolas never would have admitted it to a dwarf, he found comfort in the sight of the rocks surrounding him. At least now he could see.  
  
He took advantage of the light to survey his surroundings. The area he was in was not very wide, perhaps ten feet or so, but it seemed to continue for quite some time in length. He stood, picking up the lantern. Perhaps some of his companions were further down the passage. With this hopeful thought to guide him, he set off to see what he could find.  
  
It was slow going. Many rocks had tumbled onto the floor, making it difficult to walk, and the walls were uneven, sometimes coming so close together that he almost got suck trying to squeeze between them. The area was almost unrecognizable as the cavern the Fellowship had stopped in. But then again, he found it impossible to distinguish one part of these wretched mines from the other. How dwarves found such places appealing he would never understand.  
  
Suddenly he became aware of a crunching, crumbling noise coming from farther down the passage. It sounded like someone was walking towards him, occasionally stumbling over a rock on the ground. He squinted and held the lantern up higher, trying to catch a glimpse of whomever it was. He held his bow tightly, ready to draw and fire an arrow if it turned out to be an orc. Slowly the figure came into view. It was short and stout, and was holding what seemed to be an axe over its head.  
  
As this information sunk in, he realized who it was and sank to the ground with a groan. As he did so, the figure stopped.  
  
"Who's there?" a voice said gruffly. "I can see your lantern from here, and I can hear you."  
  
Legolas did not answer, though he recognized the voice. He let the newcomer walk over to see for himself who his companion was.  
  
He did not have long to wait. Soon the red-bearded figure walked into Legolas's small circle of light and stopped short. He then cursed loudly and violently. "Of all the."  
  
Legolas raised his eyebrows. "No need to swear, Master Dwarf. I do not like the current situation any more than you do." He tried to keep his voice cold and aloof.  
  
Gimli laughed shortly. "Oh aye, I don't doubt that, elf." He frowned. "There. there weren't any others at your end of the cave?"  
  
"No," Legolas answered, feeling slightly sick. "I assume there were none down there, either?" He motioned in the direction Gimli had come. The dwarf shook his head and sat down heavily, muttering into his beard once again. Legolas could not blame him, for he felt that, if he had such a preposterous thing as a beard, he would be doing the same. As it was, he tried to remain as dignified as possible as he buried his face in his hands.  
  
He was stuck alone with Gimli. 


	5. Pippin

Author's Note: I'm so sorry this update took so long! I blame the fact that I'm taking 3 AP classes next year, and therefore have a ton of summer homework. But I finally finished this chapter, even if it is from a different POV than I had planned it to be. It's hard to write from Gandalf's perspective! So I gave up and made this the Pippin chapter. Hehe. I'm not sure how much I like it, but I'm just so glad to have it done!  
  
Out of curiosity, is anyone willing to be a beta reader for the next few chapters? None of my friends seem willing to edit my stories for me. *shrugs*  
  
Oh and I hope the next chapter will write itself sooner. It's from Merry's POV, and since he's my favorite character it should be fun. Hehe.  
  
QTPie-2488: Thank you sooo much for the email! It really made me get to work on this chapter! *points* This is the one you should thank, she's the one who got me writing this chappie! *grins*  
  
Citrine: Hehe! Thanks for compliments, they were coherent enough for me. ;-)  
  
Xena: Thank! I have to admit, the Legolas chapter has grown on me, and I don't hate it as much as I did when I first wrote it. And here's a Pippin chapter for you! *grins*  
  
MoroTheWolfGod: Hehe, you're welcome! I'm glad my Legolas chapter met your expectations.  
  
Midgette: *gulps* Yes, ma'am, I'll reconnect the Fellowship as soon as possible. not before I get a few more chapters in, though! *evil grin*  
  
ShireElf: Well, of course they were going to end up together! Hehe. Thanks!  
  
buttered-onions: Oh, I hate it when that happens. I usually make my friend email me the fic I'm trying to read whenever my computer won't let me read it, cause I go crazy otherwise. Hehe. Thanks a bunch!  
  
Tialys: Hehe, muchas gracias! (I'm trying to vary my "thank you"s. Spanish good for you? ;-) )  
  
Lady Jaina: I plan on having Sam/Frodo angst, but for all I know that could change. I keep changing my mind with this story! Heh. But thanks for reviewing yet again! Hehe.  
  
Chapter Five: Pippin  
  
Pippin followed Gandalf across the cave, trotting a bit to keep up with the much taller wizard. He couldn't help glancing up at the rock ceiling every few seconds - What was holding those rocks up? Who was to say they wouldn't suddenly start falling again? He shivered involuntarily. He trusted Gandalf, but when his life depended entirely on something he couldn't see or touch, he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious.  
  
"Now, Pippin," Gandalf said. Pippin forced his attention away from the boulders and focused on the wizard, who was settling himself down upon the floor and leaning against a rock wall. "See if you can remember where the others were when the cave-in began. They might have moved, but it seems wisest to begin looking where we last saw them."  
  
Pippin nodded and obediently began looking about the cavern. In the back of his head, he knew that Gandalf did not really need his help; he could remember where the others had been just as easily as Pippin could. He suddenly realized that this was an attempt on Gandalf's part to make him feel needed, and to get his mind off the possible fates of his cousins and friends. If that was so, then Pippin welcomed this gesture of kindness, for every time he thought of the others he felt sick to his stomach.  
  
He glanced around him, feeling too jumpy to sit down next to Gandalf. Frodo, Sam, and Merry had not been far from where he and Boromir had been, so it made sense to look for them near the boulder that he had found Boromir behind. Legolas had been near the center. But wait, he had gone over to speak to Gimli. Pippin shut his eyes, trying to picture the scene in his head. Gimli had been across the cave from where he had been sitting.  
  
He opened his eyes and looked at Gandalf. "Frodo, Sam, and Merry should be over near where Boromir and Aragorn are," he told him. "And Legolas and Gimli should be somewhere behind this wall here."  
  
Gandalf nodded, already scanning the cave. "Thank you, Pippin," he said distractedly, beginning to rise. "Why don't we go help Aragorn and Boromir?"  
  
Pippin followed him, even though he doubted he could do anything to help when it came to moving rocks that were bigger than he was. Aragorn and Boromir turned to face them as they approached.  
  
"Pippin thinks Frodo, Samwise, and Meriadoc were somewhere near this spot when the cave in occurred," Gandalf said. "It would be best if we looked for them first. I believe Gimli and Legolas are together, and Gimli, as a dwarf, should know what to do in this situation."  
  
Aragorn nodded in agreement. "This spot is as good as any to dig," he said, motioning to the wall behind them. "The walls seem to be equally thick all the way around." He turned and sized up the wall. "Be careful moving the stones. I know Gandalf did his best to hold them up, but there could still be some loose ones." He knelt and set to work trying to move one of the rocks."  
  
Boromir paused before following suit. A small smile played on his face. "Legolas and Gimli are together, you say?" he asked Gandalf. When the wizard nodded, he gave a small laugh. "I'm not sure we should be worrying about the hobbits' well-being at the moment, in that case." Gandalf raised his eyebrows in response, and Boromir coughed and set to work.  
  
Pippin tried to help, but found he was more of a nuisance than anything else. Every time he tried to move a rock, he ended up losing control of it, and one of the men had to snatch him out of the way of the rolling stone before he was crushed by it. The third time this happened, Aragorn set him down off to one side and said kindly, "I know you want to help, Pippin, but I think you are too small for this job. You can help us find the others once we get through, all right?"  
  
Pippin nodded his agreement, feeling stupid, small, and useless, as Aragorn turned back to help the others move the rocks.  
  
Unfortunately, now Pippin had nothing to keep him from worrying himself sick. He looked on as the others moved the huge stones, hugging his knees to his chin. One of those rocks was enough to crush him. An entire cave- in left little chance of survival. He shivered uncontrollably. What if they were. dead? What if Merry was dead? He didn't think he could bear that. Merry had always been there, always, for as long as he could remember. He felt very small and frightened, and wished fervently that Merry was there to reassure him that everything would turn out all right. But Merry wasn't there. He was on the other side of the wall, or worse. Pippin sniffed. He was not going to cry. It was bad enough that he was useless, he didn't have to be a baby about it, too.  
  
A cry of triumph from Boromir caused Pippin to come out of his thoughts and pay attention to what was happening.  
  
"I've gotten through to the other side!" he said, pointing to the tiny hole in the wall. "We're making progress!"  
  
Aragorn knelt down to peer through the hole. "I see nothing," he said. "It's completely dark over there, and I don't want to call to them. It might cause another cave-in, and that is exactly what we don't want."  
  
Pippin got to his feet. "Then hurry up!" he cried. The two men and the wizard gazed down at him. "Please?" he added meekly. "I want to find them as soon as possible."  
  
Gandalf smiled kindly. "As do we all, Peregrin." He nodded to the men. "Let's try to get through the wall as soon as possible."  
  
Pippin hovered on the edge of the activity as the men set back to work. Soon they would be able to get through and find the others. He just hoped his friends were all right. 


	6. Merry

Author's Note:  Argh! *bashes head against keyboard* I am so so so sorry that this chapter took so long.  I have literally had no free time since school started.  It's been driving me crazy… My friend Lauren (Idle Mind) will tell you that I keep randomly going "Ugh! I want to work on my fic!"  Heh.  Yeah, it's driving me mad.  But I have a three-day weekend, so here it is! 

Does anyone have a suggestion for what I should do with Chapter 7?  It's going to be Gimli's chappie, but I'm not sure what to do with it.  All suggestions are welcome… ;-)

ShireElf:  *hides* Sorry about the cliffhangers!  Um, you probably won't like this chapter, then… *runs away*

QTPie-2488:  Hehe.  Thanks!

Hai:  Wow, thanks!  Don't worry, everyone will be fine… I'm trying to stick with the plot of LotR, so no one's going to die or anything…

Idle Mind:  You suck, Lauren.  :-p  Hehe, but thank you for reviewing my fic.   (*cough* Everyone who reads this should do read Idle Mind's fic "Not all those who wander"… cause it's good… hehe.)

MoroTheWolfGod:  Right away, captain! ;-)

Tenigee:  Thanks! Um, I don't honestly know how long the fic will be… I think I've written more than half, but I don't really have a set plan at the moment so things could change… *shrugs*

Xena:  Hehe, I'm glad you liked the Pippin chapter… And thank you for the compliment.  You won't have to worry; at the rate I'm going, this fic won't be finished for awhile… *sighs*

Lady Jaina:  *bows* Thank you!

Barbara Kennedy:  Um, I think Legolas is just afraid of the dark.  As to the natural glow… I'm not entirely sure about the natural glow of elves… Um… I'll have to look it up, hehe.

Eiluj:  Thanks!

Buttered-onions:  You silly Pippin people… thinking that Pippin is the best character, when everyone knows it's Merry! *rolls eyes*  Hehe, I'm joshing… Thanks for reviewing!  ;-)

Chapter Six:  Merry 

            Merry stepped back, raising his lantern high over his head.  He frowned in frustration.  The light did not illuminate much of the rock wall, and he couldn't see the top.  He squinted, hoping to see something more, but everything beyond the lantern's small circle of light was black.  Sighing, he looked over at Frodo and shook his head.

"I can't see the top," he said, lowering the lantern.  "The light isn't strong enough."

Frodo frowned from where he sat on the ground next to Sam, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.  "But I don't remember falling very far.  It can't be more than fifteen feet high, I imagine."  He craned his head back to look, but his lantern showed nothing more than Merry's had.

Merry glanced upward, hesitating a moment before asking, "Do you think it might be possible to climb the wall?"  He knew what the answer would be, but felt he had to ask anyway.

Frodo immediately shook his head.  "No.  It's too dangerous.  It looks like a sheer drop, and we don't have any rope to use."

"Rope!"  Sam opened his eyes to look at them.  "I knew I'd be wanting it if I didn't have it."  He sighed heavily, then winced and brought his hand to his head.

Frodo was immediately at his side, carefully pushing back Sam's brown curls to expose the makeshift bandage.  A dark red splotch was growing steadily, staining Pippin's shirt.  Frodo's brow creased, and he looked at Merry with a worried expression on his face.  "We ought to change the bandage.  You don't happen to have any more of Pippin's shirts in your pack, do you?" He smiled weakly.

Merry gave a small grin.  "Even if I did, I don't think Pippin would thank me if I ruined any more of his shirts.  We'll have to find something else."  He sat down next to his pack and began to rummage through it.  Frodo reached for his pack and did likewise.

After a moment, Merry glanced sideways at Frodo.  "Are you sure about not climbing the wall?  We need to try and find the others, and we'll never be able to do that if we're stuck down here." He felt a certain helplessness about being trapped.  He just wanted to do _something_.

Frodo shook his head once more.  "Merry, we can't risk it.  Suppose one of us were to fall while climbing the wall, then two of us would be hurt instead of one.  It's far too risky.  The others are more than capable of finding us—after all, most of them are larger and stronger than we are."

_If they're still alive_, Merry found himself thinking.  The thought sent a shiver down his spine.  What if they were the only ones left?  Would the three of them be able to finish the quest on their own? _What about Pippin?_

Try not to think of it.

Instead, he dug deeper into his bag until, after a few minutes of searching, he produced an unused, if extremely crumpled, handkerchief.  He tossed it to Frodo.

"I had forgotten that was in there," he said, shrugging.  "It's a start, anyway."

Frodo nodded, glancing at the handkerchief briefly before returning to his search his own pack.  "I think I packed one too…"

Merry shook his head.  It seemed strange to him that they ever would have thought a handkerchief would be useful on such a quest.  How little they had known, that night in Crickhollow.  Now they were too busy trying to make it through each day to worry about little trifles like that.

After a moment Frodo found his handkerchief as well, and by tying the two together he was able to make a piece of cloth large enough to tie around Sam's head.  He sighed, looking at it.

"We need to get him some proper care," he said softly, so Sam wouldn't hear.  "If we don't clean that wound soon, it will get infected."

Merry shuddered involuntarily at the thought.  An infection was not a pleasant thing, especially when they were so far from a town or village.  He got to his feet.

"I'm going to look around down there," he said, nodding in the direction they had not yet explored.  "Maybe the wall is less steep further down."

Frodo looked dubious, but nodded, handing Merry one of the lanterns.  "Be careful," he warned, sitting down next to Sam with the bandage in his hand.  "And don't go too far; we don't know what is down there."

Merry nodded and walked off, taking his lantern with him, holding it high over his head to examine the walls.  He glanced back over his shoulder briefly to see Frodo carefully removing Sam's bandage.  It was such a familiar sight – how many times had he taken care of the scratches and scrapes Pippin had gotten as a lad?

He bit his lip.  He hadn't meant to think of Pippin.  He tried to push the worries out of his head, but they refused to move.  What if Pippin had been hurt in the cave-in?  Suppose he was lost, hurt and alone, with no one to help him?  Or what if—

_Stop it_, he berated himself.  He was making himself sick with worry, and it would do him no good.  If Pippin was hurt – and there was every chance that he was perfectly fine – there was nothing Merry could do about it at the moment.

"Unless I can find a spot where we can climb up," he muttered to himself.  He turned his attention back to the wall, wishing it weren't so steep.  If it was only more jagged, he could surely find enough hand and footholds to climb up…

Suddenly, there was a tiny splash as his foot landed in something wet and cold.  Merry jumped in surprise, lowering the lantern to see what it was.  The ground was covered in a few inches of water that extended past the light of the lantern.

A feeling of foreboding came over Merry, and he stepped forward, shivering as his feet touched the icy water once again.  He had walked a few more yards when a wall appeared in front of him, blocking his way.   Frowning, he turned, moving along the wall.  The water was up to his knees here, and unless he was mistaken, it was rising slowly.  He found the other wall perhaps fifty feet away from where he had started, and this one did not seem to have a top.

Merry was beginning to worry.  The water was definitely rising; it was already halfway up his thighs.  It would eventually reach the spot where Frodo and Sam were sitting.  His mind raced.  How would they move Sam?  How would they get out?  _Where are the others?_

Merry turned abruptly and ran back to Frodo and Sam.  They had a serious problem.

**Author's Note:**  I hereby dub myself Queen of Cliffhangers… muahaa! (Or one of the Queen's of Cliffhangers, I know there's a couple… hehe.)


End file.
